After the End
by GrimauldPlace
Summary: Voldemort has finally been defeated, and those who are left must move on with their lives. But how will Harry and his friends fit into the adult wizard world? Beginning at the end of the final battle, they face new challenges such as finding jobs, building relationships and mourning their lost loved ones whilst combatting a new kind of evil...
1. Chapter 1: The Aftermath

Seven years ago they'd met in a train carriage on their way to school, bonding over sweets and the similar giddy excitement of starting a new adventure in a world they'd previously only dreamed of. The three had quickly become best friends, and had been almost inseparable. Now they stood together holding hands, staring at the remains of the school they'd known and loved. Each face was contorted with emotion- relief, triumph, grief. There was a long silence as their minds raced with the events of the last few hours. So much had happened in such a short space of time, but now it was all over.

The bridge was crumbling at the edges, the railings at the sides completely destroyed. Dust, debris and dead bodies littered the bridge, a nauseating reminder of what had taken place. The sky that had been so dark and foreboding was beginning to lighten. Suddenly a bright beam of sunlight erupted from between the grey clouds, shining like a spotlight on the three friends. They all looked up at the sky in awe. Hermione gasped and let out an amazed laugh as a tear slid down her cheek. Ron's eyes widened and he smiled. Harry stared at the sky and smiled too, his eyes shining with emotion. They looked at each other and started laughing incredulously whilst tears ran down their faces. Hermione squeezed both their hands tightly and rested her head on Ron's shoulder.

"My family" Ron murmured after a while.  
>"Go" Hermione urged him.<br>For a moment Ron's face twisted with pain and grief as he thought of his brother and he faltered.  
>"They need you" Hermione whispered.<br>Ron nodded and walked slowly towards the school, as if his whole body was made of lead.

Later that evening Harry and Hermione were sitting together on the front steps of Hogwarts, watching the sun sink lower in the sky.  
>"Thank you Hermione"<br>"What for?"  
>"Everything. Your friendship, loyalty and bravery- I couldn't have done any of it without you" Harry said sincerely.<br>"He's really gone" she said quietly.  
>"Yes he has"<br>Hermione sighed heavily and nodded. She turned as she heard footsteps approaching behind them and saw Ginny standing there. Harry turned around and stood up hastily when he saw her. He held out an arm and then put it back by his side, unsure what to do. He took a step towards her as she took a step towards him, and they were suddenly clinging to each other. Harry hugged Ginny tightly against him and buried his head in her shoulder. Unseen by either of them, Hermione quietly sunk into the shadows of the entrance hall.

"I thought you'd died… when Hagrid… it was…" Ginny whispered brokenly. Harry took her face in his hands.  
>"I know"<br>She reached up and took his hand and they sat down close to each other on the steps. The sun was setting now, the sky ablaze with red and orange and pink. The two stared at it, beyond it, deep in thought. Ginny let out the tiniest of sobs and Harry saw there were tears streaming down her cheeks. He put his arm comfortingly around her, holding her against him.  
>"It's beautiful" she said surprisingly steadily, nodding towards the sunset.<br>"Yeah" Harry said, looking at her.  
>"Fred" she whispered.<br>"He's up there" Harry said quietly but surely.  
>"Do you think so?" Ginny asked hopefully.<br>"I know so"  
>"With your…"<br>"Parents" Harry finished her tentative sentence; "and Sirius, and everyone else who was lost today."  
>Ginny smiled bravely as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. They sat there together until long after the sun had faded to darkness.<p>

Harry had thought his head and heart were too full to sleep, but when he and Ron had found their old bedroom in Gryffindor tower, miraculously unscathed, he was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He slept dreamlessly until late the following morning. When he awoke he found Ron standing by the window, surveying the remains of the previous day.  
>"Ron?" Harry said groggily, sitting up in bed.<br>"What happens now?" Ron asked, turning to look at Harry.  
>"I don't know" he admitted honestly, after a pause.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Fireworks & Funerals

**#2**

The next week passed by in a blur as memorial services were held for those who had been lost in the battle, and the ones left contemplated their future. A private funeral was held for Fred by his family and a few close friends, which was particularly emotional. Harry and Hermione sat behind the Weasley's in the little church, her trying to muffle her sobs with a tissue and him beyond tears. Everyone was wearing similar mourning robes and pale faces as some words were said and Fred's ashes were given to the family.

Afterwards they went back to the Weasley's house, where large amounts of food were stacked onto the kitchen table, untouched by the people who were too busy grieving.  
>"He would have hated this" Ron said grimly to Harry and Hermione, gesturing around at the sad faces that murmured quietly to one another. "He'd be devastated to see us all like this because of him. He spent his whole life joking around- him and George managed to find the funny side of everything. I know he'd want this to be a happy occasion, celebrating him…" Ron sighed.<br>"So let's turn it into one" Ginny shrugged, appearing behind Ron.  
>"How?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.<br>"I've got an idea" she said, her eyes twinkling. "Harry come and help me will you?"

Harry followed Ginny up two flights of stairs and into Fred and George's bedroom. She faltered for a second when she saw Fred's bed, made neatly by their Mother, but she quickly rushed to a large cardboard box in the corner.  
>"I'm not sure we should be going through their stuff…" Harry said cautiously, hovering in the doorway.<br>"I know what I'm doing. Just come and help me" Ginny urged, rummaging through the box. Harry walked over and knelt down beside her just as she pulled out a brightly coloured box.  
>"Found it!" she exclaimed, grinning at Harry. He read the writing on the box and laughed for the first time in weeks.<p>

The pair crept down the stairs and out of the back door into the dark chilly evening.  
>"Lumos" Harry whispered, whilst Ginny fumbled with the box.<br>A few minutes later everything was prepared.  
>"Ready?" Harry asked.<br>"Ready" Ginny confirmed.  
>They backed away towards the house, pointing their wands at something barely visible in the grass. Suddenly there was a loud explosion and a burst of coloured light shot into the sky. A shriek was heard from inside the house and Hermione came running outside, closely followed by Ron and Arthur Weasley. Another boom sounded, echoed in the surrounding fields and more coloured light flashed across the sky.<br>"Molly come here!" Arthur shouted to his wife. She came bustling out of the house, looking exhausted and disgruntled. When she saw the fireworks she drew a hand over her mouth in awe. Everyone piled outside and stood watching the spectacle in amazement. Harry and Ginny grinned triumphantly at each other as they looked at the smiling faces of their family and friends, lit up by fireworks made by the Weasley twins themselves.  
>"Thank you" Arthur mouthed, smiling at Harry. Harry nodded once and put his arm around Ginny's shoulders. She leaned against him as they watched the show of colours and patterns shoot across the sky.<br>"Ginny where did you get those?" a voice asked coolly behind them. Harry and Ginny both turned to see George standing there.  
>"It was…" Harry began.<br>"I just thought…" Ginny said simultaneously.  
>A smile split across George's face when he saw their scared expressions, and he put his arms around both of them.<br>"You two are brilliant!"


	3. Chapter 3: Moving On

**#3**

All education was postponed at Hogwarts until the following September, when most of the necessary repairs had been finished. It would never be the same place it once was- no amount of magic could replace the incredible history and unique build of the castle, but nevertheless everyone worked hard to get it up to an impressive standard again.

Harry, Hermione and Ron had spent the summer researching potential careers and required training, which had been overwhelmingly normal and uneventful compared to the previous few months. Now that they had finished Hogwarts and defeated Voldemort, they had to plan for their futures and act like grown-ups.

"Ron for Merlin's sake move that box before I trip over it for the 4th time!" Hermione exclaimed crossly. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who suppressed a chuckle as she glared at the two of them. Today was the big day- the three friends were moving into Grimauld Place- the house which Sirius had left to Harry. They had used magic to pack all their things into boxes over the last few days, but they had to use a muggle removal service which meant carrying all the boxes into the house using manual labour. Hermione had taken charge, organising the boys into helping carry boxes into the right rooms and making sure everything was there.  
>"Ron! What's this box doing in the kitchen? It clearly says bedroom on it" Hermione sighed. Harry leaned against the kitchen doorframe for a second, watching her muttering under her breath.<br>"I'll do it" he offered, walking into the room.  
>"Thanks. Although we should make Ron do it, he's the one who's done the least today" she grumbled.<br>"Cut him a bit of slack, he's only your boyfriend" Harry grinned, heaving the box into his arms. Hermione smiled despite herself and looked at the floor, her cheeks turning slightly red.

The three had given a lot of thought about where they were going to live. Grimauld place was in a useful location, and already belonged to Harry, but it was also dark and cold- like some of the memories they had of it. It was where the Order of the Phoenix had held their headquarters two years ago- half of whose members were now dead. But it was Harry's only connection to any of his family and he wouldn't have sold it for the world. Hermione and Ron had agreed it was the best option for now, and they had set about decorating it to lighten up the atmosphere over the last few weeks.

Meanwhile, Ginny was sitting on the Hogwarts Express, staring out of the window as the fields sailed past. She hadn't wanted to come back for her final year, but Harry and her family had persuaded her it would be for the best. She was still mourning Fred four months after his death, like the rest of her family, but now she thought maybe it would be good for her to be away from them and to try to put the raw emotions of May behind her now. She hoped she'd be busy enough at Hogwarts to be distracted from all that. Ginny hadn't wanted to be parted from Harry- she'd only get to see him in the holidays and on occasional visits to Hogsmeade this year, but she knew finishing her education was wise, and he'd given her an important job to do as well. This was to run the Defence Against the Dark Arts 'club' that Harry had started in his fifth year at Hogwarts. Ginny had shown her skill and bravery in the previous few years, especially in the great battle, and she was pleased she had been trusted to coach and teach some of the younger students about defence spells. And as Hermione had reminded her recently, the DADA was still very necessary- just because Voldemort had been defeated, didn't mean they could all just relax and assume nothing bad would ever happen again. Who knew when they might be needing practical DADA skills in the future… HarryH


	4. Chapter 4: A Nasty Surprise

**#4**

Harry and Ron had applied for Auror training over the summer and had both received a place on the 2 year course which was beginning today- 5th September.

"Who do you think will be teaching us?" Ron asked eagerly as the pair made their way down the busy London street.  
>"Dunno" Harry shrugged, "wish Mad-eye could have taught us"<br>"Yeah he was brilliant- scary, but brilliant" Ron agreed.  
>The boys arrived at a very average looking red telephone box.<br>"I guess this must be it" Harry said cautiously. Ron nodded.  
>"Come on then, don't want to be late on our first day" he said, pushing open the door.<br>"I don't think there's room for both of us at once" Harry pointed out.  
>"Course there is!" Ron beckoned. Harry raised an eyebrow but shuffled into the small box beside Ron.<br>"Well this is cosy" Ron winked.  
>"Shut up" Harry mock-glared at Ron, who burst out laughing.<br>Harry picked up the phone and suddenly both boys felt themselves spinning faster and faster through the air.

They had apparated into the main entrance of the Ministry of Magic, appearing beside each other in one of the bright green fireplaces. The black tiled hall was teeming with smartly dressed people, walking purposefully towards a collection of doors at one end. Harry and Ron joined the crowd and let themselves be pulled along past the fountain and towards the doors.  
>"Where exactly are we supposed to go?" Ron asked, speaking loudly in Harry's ear, over the noise of the people.<br>"The letter said the Department of Aurors, but I don't know where specifically"  
>"And where exactly is the Department of Aurors?" Ron asked.<br>"No idea" Harry admitted.

After asking two people for directions, and then getting completely lost, Ron and Harry eventually found the right room. They hurried towards the door and almost fell through it in their haste to be on time. They came face to face with a very tall, very broad, stern looking man.  
>"Ah you must be the missing two" he stated. "Ronald Weasley and… Harry Potter."<br>He stared closely at them as a groan came from someone sitting on the front row. Harry and Ron turned to see who it belonged to.  
>"No way"<br>"You have _got_ to be kidding me"  
>The boys muttered simultaneously.<br>Sitting on the front row, a smug grin on his face was none other than Draco Malfoy.  
>"Sit please" their teacher pointed to two empty desks behind Malfoy. Harry and Ron hurried to their seats and then shared a dismayed look. They were both longing to find out how Malfoy had managed to worm his way into auror training in the Ministry of Magic, especially since he had turned to the dark side during the great battle and should probably now be in hiding like the rest of Voldemort's most committed followers. The remaining death eaters had gone unsurprisingly quiet during the summer, virtually disappearing altogether apart from to star in one controversial newspaper report.<p>

"Welcome to Auror training" the man boomed. "These next two years will be hard work, but you will all hopefully come out of it as fully qualified Aurors. I am Professor Quentin Imperious but you can address me as 'Sir' and I will be teaching you for the majority of the time. Some days we will be in this room, learning about the theories and history of dark spells, and sometimes we will go out to do practical work. There's nothing I haven't seen, nothing I haven't dealt with before. I know many of you were involved in the Great Battle and because of this you may feel like you know everything already. You would be wrong. There are many things you haven't even thought of, let alone experienced, so please don't get cocky. I will be strict but fair, and I expect you to always give me your best, as I will do to you. Any questions?"  
>A boy further along the same row as Harry and Ron tentatively raised a hand.<br>"Yes Billington?"  
>"Why is your last name Imperious, Sir?"<br>He lowered his head and gave the class a sinister look, slowly making eye contact with each one.  
>"If I told you now it would keep you up at night. Perhaps when you have been a little more tarnished with the horrors of the world I will tell you the story" he said very slowly and quietly.<p>

Harry felt himself shrink back into his seat, away from the man. Ron turned to him with a horrified expression on his face and shivered.  
>"I don't like the sound of that" he whispered to Harry. <p>


	5. Chapter 5: Q Imperious

**#5**

Harry and Ron had just arrived home from their first day of Auror training, and like he often did, Harry went to Sirius's old bedroom. He stood in the middle of the room for a long time, listening to the sound of his own breathing, replaying memories of Sirius- some of his happiest moments. He slowly walked over to the desk, still laid out the same as when Sirius left this house as a teenager years ago. Harry picked up the photo frame with the picture of the four best friends- Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. They were the same age as he was now. Peter stood a little apart from the rest of them, a scowl on his face. Lupin smiled shyly, standing slightly back from Sirius and James. Sirius grinned and then winked, one arm lazily draped around James, who was smiling proudly, standing straight and tall. Harry sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the latter two men until his eyes began to lose focus.

There was a soft knock on the door which snapped Harry back to reality.  
>"Can I come in?" Hermione asked tentatively, pushing open the door and standing in the doorway. Harry nodded. She walked into the room and stood awkwardly beside the desk.<br>"He'd be glad to know you're living here- Sirius" Hermione said quietly. Harry nodded again. After a pause she shifted her weight to her other foot and ran a finger along the edge of the desk.  
>"I bet they had a great time together, when they were our age" Hermione said, nodding towards the photo in Harry's hand. He studied it for a minute and then looked up at her, smiling.<br>"Yeah" he agreed. "It's been two years since Sirius died… and it still hurts so much" Harry said sadly, who felt the pain of his Godfather's passing almost more than his own Father, because he had known Sirius for a couple of blessed years whereas his father had died when he was only a baby.  
>"I know" Hermione said softly.<br>"And Lupin- his son" Harry frowned, swallowing hard, "He'll never know his parents."  
>"So as his Godfather, you need to be to him what Sirius was to you" Hermione said sincerely.<br>Harry looked at her closely and eventually smiled.  
>"Hermione-"<br>"When's dinner, I'm _starving_?" Ron shouted up the stairs, interrupting them.  
>Hermione sighed and Harry let out a quick breath that was almost a laugh. Harry put the photo back on the desk in the same spot he'd picked it up from, and then followed Hermione out of the room.<p>

"So how was your first day of Auror training?" Hermione asked once they were all sat around the table which was laden with food.  
>"Pretty good" Ron said with a mouthful.<br>"Once we'd actually found the right place" Harry added.  
>"But you'll never guess who's in our class" Ron exclaimed, and Harry nodded vigorously, suddenly remembering the unwelcome surprise.<br>"Malfoy!" Ron spat, sounding disgusted.  
>"What?" Hermione put her fork down loudly.<br>"We walked in and there he was, blonde hair and smug grin, right on the front row" Harry said gloomily.  
>"How on earth did he get onto <em>Auror training? <em>He was a death eater- he shouldn't even be allowed inside the ministry of magic. Come to that he should be in _hiding!" _she ranted. Harry and Ron nodded their agreement as she continued for another few minutes about how Malfoy's father had probably pulled some strings, threatened a few people on pain of death, and then paid them for their 'cooperation'.  
>"I hope the stupid git gets hexed by a rebounding spell on his first practical task" Ron said hotly.<br>"We've got this really creepy teacher as well" he added, "he's called Professor Quentin Imperious."  
>Hermione's eyes widened and she stopped chewing.<br>"Do you know who he is?" Harry asked, "because he was all weird and mysterious when someone asked where his name came from, and he said we weren't ready to know yet."  
>Hermione put down her knife and fork and stared at the two boys.<br>"What is it Hermione?" Ron asked eagerly.  
>"Nothing… I mean, well, no, it can't be" she stuttered.<br>"Oh come on you have to tell us now" Harry urged, leaning towards her across the table as though she was going to whisper it to them. Hermione took a deep breath.  
>"Well… legend has it that Quirinius Imperious, the first of the Imperious line which began in 1400, was the inventor of one of the unforgivable curses…" Hermione said in a hushed tone.<br>"The Imperious curse" Harry whispered.  
>"Exactly. The family were famously always loyal supporters of the dark side of every battle that's ever occurred in magic history" she continued. "They were supporters of Voldemort. His older brothers fought on Voldemort's side the first time he rose to power, and three of them died fighting for him"<br>"So how come we haven't heard of Quentin Imperious before?" Ron frowned.  
>"He's the fifth brother in the family- that's what Quentin means- fifth" Hermione told them matter-of-factly, "anyway, he was rumoured to have been part of Voldemort's army last May, but he never became a death eater like his older brothers, and because of that they banished him from the family because his heart and mind weren't quite as black as all the Imperious men before him" Hermione finished.<p>

No one spoke for a long time. Then:  
>"Bloody hell Hermione, how do you know all this stuff?" Ron asked, looking nervous and impressed.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: Ginny's World

**Hey guys, hope you're enjoying the story! Please read and review, I'd really appreciate your feedback :)**

**#6**

Ginny was walking through the grounds of Hogwarts alone, lost in her own thoughts. She was thinking about what had changed, and how nothing could ever be the same again.

Professor McGonagall was headmistress, which was a relief, because at least she was fair and often favoured the Gryffindors. However, there were noticeable gaps in Ginny's year where students had been killed during the Great Battle, or had been too terrified to return to the place where they fought and lost friends and family. Ginny couldn't help thinking often about Fred. He used to walk these corridors... He used to eat at this table... He used to fly on this Quidditch pitch...

Ginny had been captain of the Quidditch team last year, but all their games against Slytherin had been lost- apart from one which was technically a draw, but the Carrows had declared Slytherin the winners and had beaten up half of the Gryffindor team in Snape's office afterwards. Now she was determined for her team to beat Slytherin at the earliest opportunity.

This, along with Dumbledore's Army, kept her busy. She had recruited some of the brave younger students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and was teaching them spells that Harry had first taught her. She had given a somewhat inspiring and jarring speech in the first session about how important it was to combat evil, and now every face was set in grim determination as each person held out their wand and tried again and again to stupefy the person opposite them.

"Nearly Patrick! Well done" Ginny encouraged, pacing up and down the line.

The room of requirement was still meeting their needs; mercifully it hadn't been blown to pieces like the majority of the rest of the castle seemed to have been.

"Come on Dean, put some welly into it" she scolded as Dean struggled to produce a patronus. He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes in concentration.

"Think happy thoughts" she told him.

"Believe me I'm trying" he replied through gritted teeth. He winked at her and grinned coyly and she stepped backwards into a first year.

"Sorry um..."

"Fred" the first year prompted her.

"F Fred, right" she said quietly, turning and walking away as quickly as she could.

Ginny wasn't sure if she was just paranoid, but since the beginning of term Dean had seemed to be trying to flirt with her. He'd made 'subtle' references to when they had been together, and every time she looked at him, he was already looking at her, and he would grin and sometimes wave. Just because Harry wasn't here anymore, didn't mean she would go fooling around with anyone else, especially not her ex boyfriend from three years ago. She missed Harry a lot, and wished he was still here, but he was training to be an auror, and she wouldn't see him until the Christmas holidays.

Later Ginny lay in bed, staring at Hermione's empty bed next to her and wishing she was here. Ginny missed her company, and how they talked about everything. There were two other girls in Ginny's year who shared the room with her, but they weren't the same as Hermione. She would always out Ginny on the straight and narrow, or reassure her if she was worried about anything. She desperately wanted to be with Harry, Ron and Hermione. She felt like they had grown up and were on a big adult adventure without her, whilst she was stuck in school, bring treated like a kid even though she had fought as well as them in the battle.


	7. Chapter 7: Dark Arts?

**Hey guys hope you're enjoying the story so far! Please review and favourite if you like it! Or comment if you have any requests..? **

**#7**

Hermione had spent the summer reading and researching careers, but the problem was that she wanted to do everything!

She loved the idea of being a teacher at Hogwarts- perhaps transfiguration or history of magic? But then again, she wanted to be doing something more active and stretching for her mind. She considered bring an Auror like Ron and Harry, but dismissed the idea on the grounds that she'd had enough of the dark arts already to last her a lifetime!

Hermione decided her skills would be used best working for the Ministry of Magic; something involving justice and the law. So she had enrolled onto a course that trained people to be what would be called a lawyer in the muggle world. Hermione had a strong sense of justice and liked everything to be right and fair. She was sharp too- not much escaped her notice, so she could pick out the little details in things, and piece lots of bit together to form the whole story.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had all been training for their new jobs for two weeks now. Hermione was enjoying her course immensely. She liked stretching her mind, and enjoyed all the reading and research that was required. She was found curled up in her bedroom with a book almost every evening after dinner! She was unsurprisingly top of her class, which made her very happy, but there was a small part of her that missed the excitement and adventure of last year when she had spent months looking for horcruxes with Harry and Ron...

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were now in a silent battle against Draco Malfoy. All three of the boys had matured over the last year, and no longer felt it acceptable to hurl insults at one another constantly. So instead they refused to talk to each other, look at each other or acknowledge each other in any way. Professor Imperious still scared Harry and Ron- they weren't convinced he was on the good side, even if he wasn't a death eater either. They were required to go out with him in pairs on practical tasks that usually involved suspected dark magic that they had to dispose of or destroy.

Harry and Ron had assisted Professor Imperious on a particularly interesting case where they had been called to an abandoned building in the middle of a muggle area that was turning muggles into China teacups is they stepped within a five metre radius of it. When Professor Imperious first explained it to the boys, they had found it highly amusing and Ron had let out a snort.

"Do you think this is a laughing matter Weasley?" the Professor growled, raising his wand slightly.

"No Sir" Ron said quickly, shaking his head vigorously. Harry bit back a grin.

"I don't like recruits who don't take their work seriously" Imperious looked darkly at Ron and then Harry.

"No Sir"

"Quite right Sir" the boys agreed in unison.

It was early evening as they made their way along the dark cold street towards the warehouse. Harry shivered from the cold and from apprehension. He felt a little nervous. He wasn't sure exactly what he would be required to do. He knew it wouldn't be fighting, but the thought of coming face to face with dark magic again made his blood buzz.

"Wands out boys, and stay on the lookout" Imperious whispered.

"Lumos"

Three sparks of light appeared as the three edged closer to the building.

Suddenly the Professor stopped and Ron and Harry walked into the back of him. He turned around and glared at the boys.

"Idiots" he hissed. "You two have got a lot to learn if you ever want to make it as Aurors" he sighed. "Right, I think the boundary is about here. Now, what spell have you learnt that reveals the boundary of a magic field?"

"Terminus Revelere" Harry said promptly.

"Go on then" he nodded at Harry, who held out his wand and tried to say the words in a commanding tone. A blue hazy line appeared about a metre in front of them, and the building now looked as if it was covered in a pale blue mist.

"Right. Now I'm going to cast some spells which should reverse this ridiculous China teacup spell" Imperious told the boys, who nodded, trying to remain serious. The fact that anyone would even cast a spell like this just seemed hilarious to them.

Harry and Ron concentrated hard as Imperious muttered spells and incantations, whilst the blue haze began to fade away.

"That should do it" Imperious said, "now come on and hide behind this building. We'll wait for the next muggle to come along to see if it's fixed."

The three crouched in the shadows of a nearby building and they didn't have to wait long. A small group of teenage boys came sauntering along.

"I dare you to go in that building" one shouted, pointing towards the abandoned warehouse.

"I heard it's haunted"

"I think it's magic"

"Go on then!"

"Naa"

"Coward!"

The boys shouted and teased each other. Harry and Ron held their breath as the boys stepped closer to the building, almost hoping to see them turn into teacups, but none of them did.

"Job done" Imperious said shortly. "I'll see you boys tomorrow, when you'll be writing up a full report of what we've done this evening" he said, looking closely at each one as if daring them to complain. With that he apparated, leaving Harry and Ron looking at each other. With a shrug they apparated to outside their house, Grimauld Place.

"Well that was hardly what you'd call dark magic was it!" Ron scoffed as he pushed open the front door. Harry chuckled behind him.

"Perhaps next time we'll get so,etching a bit more sinister than teacups."


End file.
